Elimination of Voids at Interface of β-SiC Films and Si Substrate by Laser CVD

Abstract

Void-free β-SiC films were deposited on Si(001) substrates by laser chemical vapor deposition using hexamethyldisilane (HMDS) as the precursor. The effect of the time of introducing HMDS, i e, the substrate temperature when HMDS introduced (Tin), on the preferred orientation, surface microstructure and void was investigated. The orientation of the deposited SiC films changed from to random to with increasing Tin. The surface showed a layer-by-layer microstructure with voids above Tin ⩾ 773 K, and then transformed into mosaic structure without voids at Tin= 298 K. The mechanism of the elimination of voids was discussed. At Tin =298 K, Si surface can be covered by an ultrathin SiC film, which inhibits the out-diffusion of Si atoms from substrate and prohibites the formation of the voids.